This community hasn't had a post in more than a year, and as the mod, I'm a little embarrassed.

I realized after I saw how much interest there was in intro-to-Quakerism type posts that I hadn't the first idea how to write one. The web is already full of wonderful resources for those seeking a better understanding of Friends, and I didn't know how to get us rolling without re-inventing the wheel (badum-CLANG!).

So in lieu of a long Intro to Quakerism post, I thought I'd try a linkroll. These are resources that I've found helpful in my own seeking, and in discussing Quakerism with seekers.

Keep in mind that Quakerism is an extremely broad and diverse movement. Friends often come to discussions of Quakerism with a particular editorial perspective. Their statements and observations will reflect their personal beliefs and experiences.

What is the Religious Society of Friends?

Quakermaps.com's brief introduction to Quakerism: This is one of my favorite "intro to Quakerism" articles because it's concise. Friends have a tendency to describe Quakerism by starting with history. This is like telling someone how acorns develop when they've asked you to describe a tree. Quakermaps has put together a short but comprehensive overview of what the Society of Friends looks like today.

The Quaker Information Center: The Earlham School of Religion maintains this project as an online resource for Friends and Seekers. There's a lot of great stuff here, laid out in an easy-to-navigate FAQ format.

Wikipedia: At the time of this writing, the Wikipedia entry on The Society of Friends is fairly comprehensive, but includes a lot of information that won't be useful to someone looking for just a basic snapshot of modern Friends. The sections titled Beliefs, Worship, Rights of Passage, and Decision Making are probably the best places to start.

Where Can I Find Quakers Near Me?

QuakerMaps.Com: This site uses Google Maps to show the locations of Quaker Meetings and organizations. It's still in beta, but because it aims to include Friends from across the spectrum of Friends, it's already one of the most comprehensive resources out there.

QuakerFinder.org: This is a project of Friends General Conference. It focuses primarily on FGC-affiliated Meetings, which tend to be liberal and unprogrammed (and North-American).

Quaker.org.uk/: This is a resource for Friends in the UK. There's a search bar on the front page to find a Meeting near you. (thanks, kindjourneys!)

QuakerQuaker: QuakerQuaker bills itself as an "online community of Quaker bloggers, video producers, photographers and readers." They welcome all Friends and seekers with an interest in "classic Quaker understandings of theology and practice."

Getting the ball rolling here on the series on Quakerism I discussed in the previous post. I know I didn't get any takers on the poll item regarding ideas for articles, but I'm hoping that some of our community's lovely writers might feel led to share their gifts.

I'm soliciting relatively short entries-- 300-500 words (or less, if you can cover the topic more succinctly). The point of this series is to provide background on topics related to Quakerism--basic information for those new to or exploring the Society of Friends, and short introductions to more specific or involved topics that help Friends kick off their own reading and research.

Here are a few topic ideas, if anyone wants to claim them, or use them to inspire their own topics. If you'd like to write a post for this, drop a note in the comments here so we can coordinate.

-What to expect at your first meeting for worship; or a review of what your first meeting for worship was like

-An explanation of a Quaker practice (why do many Quakers refuse to take oaths? Abstain from military service? Avoid the use of honorifics like "Your Honor?")

-A basic introduction to the Quaker business/consensus process

-What's a yearly meeting?

-An overview of the different kinds of Quakerism

-Explain the George Fox song.

On a related subject, does anyone have any suggestions for what to call the series/what tag to use for it?

Many apologies for letting the comm lie fallow for so long. I got appointed [ETA: co-clerk; there's two of us] of my meeting, started a new job, and went slightly insane in the process. Onward.

How would Friends feel about series of introductory posts on Quakerism? What I'm envisioning is a regular feature for which members of the community can write posts about some aspect of Quaker thought or practice. The point would be to provide background information to those new to the Society of Friends, as well as interesting information to those who've been around a bit longer. General subjects, specific ones, quirky ones, obscure ones--anything from a guide to what to expect at your first meeting for worship to a brief biography of a particular Quaker figure or a historical overview of plain dress.

As of this writing, there are twelve people watching this comm. I'm sure that you're all really awesome, and I would like to get to know you better. I would really love it if you'd leave a comment on this post telling the rest of us a little bit about you, so that we can better appreciate your awesomeness.

Here are a few questions to start everyone off. You can answer as many or as few as you want to, or you can leave a comment that answers none of them at all. The point is to introduce ourselves, and celebrate ourselves and our new community.

1. Do you identify as Quaker? If so, what kind of Quaker? Are your services unprogrammed (mostly silent) or programmed (led by an officiant)? Do you consider yourself Christian, Universalist, both, or other?2. What's the most awesome thing that happened to, for, or because of you this week? This can be anything from seeing a pretty flower to singlehandedly saving the world from certain doom.3. What's the most interesting thing you learned this week?4. What do you want out of this community? Are there any regular features (like a weekly column, discussion, etc) that you'd like to see here? Any that you'd like to run?

I picked this one because it was offered up at my Meeting's Meeting For Worship for the conduct of Business last week. If there's interest, perhaps we can make queries a regular feature around here, and take turns offering them.

Welcome to quakerism. This is a brand-new community, so there's not a whole lot going on yet. Please feel free to introduce yourself.

I'm Annalee, and I started this community because I love Dreamwidth, and I love Quakers, and they seem like two great tastes that would taste great together. A liberal unprogrammed Friend, I attend Meeting near Washington, DC. I'm Christian, occasionally plain-dressed, and active in the Young Adult Friends community of Baltimore Yearly Meeting. I have a particular interest in early Quaker history, and in practices related to Meeting for Worship with a Concern For Business. Through the World Gathering of Young Friends and other experiences, I have been blessed with opportunities to share fellowship and worship with Friends from many different Quaker traditions. This has led me to develop a particular concern for trying to bring Friends from various branches of Quakerism together.

Community Info:

This is a place for Friends and friends (that is to say, Quakers and people interested in Quakerism) to discuss the Quaker faith and modern Quaker living. All topics related to Quakerism are welcome here, including Quaker history, testimonies, traditions, beliefs, practices, and modern Quaker living.

We welcome Friends of all traditions, including unprogrammed, programmed, liberal, conservative, conservative and liberal in the Quaker as opposed to the political sense, Christian, Universalist, evangelical, not evangelical, etc. We also welcome all experience levels, whether you've been a Quaker all your life or just heard of us today. Non-quakers with an interest in the discussion are welcome as well.

In keeping with Dreamwidth's diversity statement, we welcome everyone here. We acknowledge the worth and dignity of all people.

Guidelines for Participation:

Once there are actually people around to participate, I will start a discussion to develop our community policies. In the meantime, I trust that people can conduct themselves in the manner of Friends, with respect, kindness, and a concern for cultivating a vibrant, diverse community.

Anyone with questions, comments, recommendations or concerns should feel free to contact me.